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Grace Lee Fort Gouldsby, born in 1923 in Bowie County, Texas, attended Hooks public schools, graduating in 1941 and entered Bishop College in 1942. She graduated in 1946 with a Bachelors degree. She did graduate work at Prairie View A&M University and East Texas State University, Commerce, Texas. Mrs. Gouldsby started her teaching career at Center Point Boarding High School, Pittsburgh, Texas, where she did her student teaching in 1946.

She accepted her first teaching assignment at Wynn High School in Garland City, Arkansas where she taught homemaking and coached girls’ athletics. During the various stages of her teaching career, in the colored school system and after integration, she taught Elementary, Junior High and High School. Areas of concentration included the head start program, remedial reading, home economics and Braille instruction. She was an active community leader and worked with children       in the 4-H Club, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts (Den Mother) and was a dietician mother and extension agent.

 Her family established the Grace Fort Gouldsby Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit corporation, on the occasion of her           retirement from the teaching profession in June of 1989. It was a means of expressing their love and appreciation for Mrs. Gouldsby’s unsparing devotion to excellence in education.

The annual scholarship is awarded to a meritorious high school graduate to assist in furthering his/her education. The recipients of the award exhibit excellence in leadership and scholarship. The initial Scholarship Committee was selected by Mrs. Gouldsby, which was comprised of members of the community. Today, the Scholarship Committee is comprised of citizens from the community and board members determines awards. Over the years, many people have made generous contributions to the Foundation particularly during the period after Mrs. Gouldsby’s untimely death in 1991. Contributions are tax deductible and go directly into the Scholarship Foundation. The experience, energy and dedication that Grace Fort Gouldsby brought to the field of education greatly enriched our children, our community, and our overall quality of life, and the Scholarship Foundation is one way of continuing her life-long commitment to quality education and quality life.

The Foundation extends its sincere appreciation to the many patrons, fiends, and family members who have supported their efforts to assist these deserving young persons. The goal is to raise enough funds to ensure that the Grace Fort Gouldsby Scholarship Foundation will continue in perpetuity, and with your help we can make this goal a reality.

Devotion to Excellence in Education

Grace Fort Gouldsby, shown below with her 1954 3rd grade class in Hooks, Bowie County, TX, is the name sake of the Foundation. She began her teaching career at the historic Center Point School in Pittsburgh, TX, which was a boarding school known for its premier education that educated students from cities and towns across the country.